Unspoken Expectations in God’s Kingdom

Unspoken Expectations in God’s Kingdom!
Matthew.16:21-23

Unspoken expectations create huge problems in marriage. A couple go to see counseling after having a sharp argument. The wise was so frustrated with her husband because he wasn’t doing what she expected; she expected him to be a handy man, someone who could fix anything in the house. The husband, however, didn’t have the skill to fix things in the house. The counselor told the wife, did you ever tell him that you wanted him to fix things in the house? She said no. She had never communicated the expectations to him. “Unspoken expectations will always grow into unmet expectations.”Redefine us. Blog about marriage.Unspoken expectations happen in relationships, work, ministry and so forth. When unspoken expectations happen in church people get frustrated, there is a lot of misunderstanding and disappointment. Everyone expects something of the church, of the minister, expectation for the praise team, leadership, and so forth. To have expectations is great, but having expectations doesn’t mean they are kingdom expectations; in other words, God’s expectation. People’s expectations in church may not promote or further the kingdom of God, but it may just be about promoting their liking, their own desire, and their own agendas. For example a pastor was told not to preach about sin only grace because sin is too personal and offends people .When Jesus chose his apostles, they heard him teach about the kingdom of heaven. They knew Jesus was the messiah who would establish an earthly kingdom. The apostles didn’t quite understand the concept of the kingdom of heaven. They were expecting a political kingdom to begin any moment; they thought Jesus would rise and begin a revolution against the Roman rule. They waited for about 3 years, as they walked and served with Jesus. They waited for the God’s kingdom to begin at any time. They had learned to pray: “Your kingdom come and your will be done.”Towards the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, right after He asked them who do you say I am? and Peter responded: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”
They got that Jesus was the messiah, but the expectations for the messiah didn’t quite match God’s expectation.
Right after that confession, Jesus began to tell them what would happen to him in Jerusalem.Matt.16:21 Jesus gave his followers God’s plan, his mission, the main reason he came to earth.-suffer many thing at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law.-death-resurrection on the third day.

What? No, No, this is not what we expect of you Jesus, this is not what we want; this is not the reason we left everything behind to follow you. What is going to happen to the kingdom if you’re dead? This was devastating news to the dreams and hopes of the apostles.This is why Peter thought Jesus needed to be rebuked for what he said.

Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Have you ever found yourself scolding God when things don’t go as you expect them?

One of Jesus’ closest friends reprimanded Jesus for the statement he made about suffering and dying. They did not even hear the part about the resurrection; they only heard suffering and death. It’s all because whatever Jesus said didn’t match their expectations.

Never Lord,this should never happen to you! God forbid Lord! What Peter is doing here is finally speaking the unspoken expectations they had when they began to follow Jesus. This is not what we want you to do Lord. This was not their kingdom dream.

Jesus called Peter, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. Why would Jesus say that to Peter? Satan was using Peter here to distract Jesus from doing what he came to do. Jesus recognized Satan’s attack even through his disciple.“You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Peter was thinking about his own agenda and not God’s agenda. Your thinking is not kingdom thinking but human thinking. You are only thinking about your plan, but your plan is not God’s plan, therefore, get behind me, because I came to do God’s will. Our expectations have to match God’s expectations, if not, we become stumbling block to accomplishing his purposes. Sometimes we work more for the enemy than for God when it comes to expectations and we may not even know it. Peter didn’t even realized it until Jesus called him Satan; you are a hindrance to my mission right now. (a dangerous trap to me NLT)

Your thinking may blind you from God’s plan and mission. The apostles were blinded by their desires, dreams and hopes, which didn’t match God’s plan. At times we too are blinded by what we expect and would like to see, that we don’t see God at work, we fail to see how he is working in furthering his kingdom. Peter’s thinking wasn’t in line with God’s mission. He was thinking about his own agenda, his own plan. Our planning has to be God’s, we must do his will and not ours. This is what it means to be kingdom people.Peter wasn’t setting his mind on the things of God, but on his own interests. We do this a lot in church when we want things for us, those things we want to see done, and we develop selfish attitudes. It’s about what I want, my needs, etc. God called Peter and is calling us to have in our minds his kingdom. Kingdom people need to have their minds set on the things of God and not on their own interests.We Christians need to daily renew our thinking because at times our thinking become a hindrance to the kingdom of God.

The expectations the apostles had about Jesus had blinded them from God’s mission. They missed the resurrection. Even after the resurrection, their thinking didn’t change regarding their expectation.

(Acts.1:6) Jesus told them, that wasn’t their concern, but they must become His witnesses everywhere they went. When I will do this is not your concern, but become my kingdom people by being my witnesses everywhere you go. This is my mission for you now. Jesus is building up his church right as we speak, you and I are part of this. But I am praying that we don’t become a hindrance to his cause due to the selfish thinking we may have.

Let me ask you, are you setting your mind on God’s interests or your own when it comes to expectations in his kingdom?

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